Learning From The Past
by JoVay
Summary: A young squirrel girl moves to the town of Happy Tree Town. Not starting with any social life to begin with, she has little to no hope that she will be happy here. That is, until she meets the friendly faces at her new school. Here is where she meets a certain purple beaver who will, in exchange, change both of their lives forever, even if it means going through pain first.
1. Chapter 1

**Why am I still here anyways? It's been WAY too long since I typed, so I might as well try to start a new fanfic to regain my strength. As you can see, this story will be about Happy Tree Friends starring one of my OCs, Millie, and my favorite Happy Tree Friends character and all-time favorite cartoon character, Toothy! I own none of Happy Tree Friends and it all belongs to the awesome people of MondoMedia.**

* * *

I watch the movers carry furniture and boxes of all sorts from the apartment I used to live in and load them all into the truck. I recoiled all one of the movers almost dropped a huge, cardboard box on me. My name is Millie Stillmid. I am a dark pink squirrel with purple hair, blue glasses, and a unique shape of buck teeth (Author's Note: Try to imagine the teeth being circular with a lump in the middle). Today is the day that my family is moving to a town called Happy Tree Town. My dad got a new job as an accountant and in order to get that job we had to leave our hometown. Mom completely supported the idea and our pet pomeranian, Gunther, was also excited to see another area. I wasn't totally thrilled about the idea, but I knew to myself that I wouldn't miss this place either. I knew next to no one at school and my apartment was only slightly above decent. My cousin, Tumbles, a dark turquoise rat, moved from the city, so that left me with no good company. On the weekends I used to volunteer at a retirement center, but the elders there didn't really show any appreciation, so I wasn't necessarily sad about moving. Still, it stressed me out, moving to an entirely different location, meeting more people that will probably ignore me, it just didn't feel right to me at the time.

Once the movers got everything packed up, my dad signaled us to get in and we drove from the apartment, giving me one last chance to look back from where we used to live. Two hours into the drive, I got bored and started fidgeting with a pen a brought. Gunther was also sitting in my lap and a started stroking his back with my free hand. I started looking out the window to see the scenery, but it was the same thing since the last two hours, nothing but trees, grass and other flora. Another hour passed and probably bored herself, my mom decided to start up a conversation.

"So, Gregory, I hate to ask, but how long until we get to the house?" she asked. "Waiting in the car is starting to bundle up my pants"

"Soon Jade, and before you know it, we'll be off to a fresh, new start" my dad answered.

They continued to talk while I stare at Gunther sniffing the pen I was holding. He was always a curious little pooch. Mom was never the patient one in our family and dad was always serious about work. And I was always alone during my life. Sure I was smart, nice and a good accessory maker, but that was it, nothing else. That has always been a part of the way I thought, just plain and dull, a generic being in life. Moving will only be the highlight of the year for me. That's how I felt, at least.

I decided to cut in on the conversation.

"Hey dad? Where will I be going to school?" I asked meekly.

"I heard you'll be attending Happy Tree High, I heard it's a great school, got in the Top 50 Schools in the country!"

" _But in what place though?_ " I thought.

Throughout the rest of the trip was silence. Eventually I saw a sign saying " Happy Tree Town: 30 miles". Gunther got off my lap and leaned against the window, wagging his tail excitedly. Mom turned back to me with a worried look on her face.

"You've been awfully quiet during the ride, Millie" she told me. "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine, mom, I assure you" I smiled fakely. "Just a bit bored, waiting to arrive at the house and all"

Mom nodded, but still looked worried, but I suppose that's a good thing. She is actually very carefree with her life and loves me very much, but when she has to, she will get protective so it's nice that she cares for me. Dad also loves me, but even when we were at our old home, I didn't see him much as he spent so much time working late, but I've gotten used to it by now.

Soon we have arrived at the house. It was white with two stories, a red door, hedges surrounded the building, the lawn was lush and fresh, it had an arch around the garage, which was on the right side of the door, and it had a small light above the door. There was also about four houses away.

" _So this is where we're staying_ " I thought to myself. " _It's a lot nicer than I thought_ "

"The house looks PERFECT, Greg!" my mom exclaimed.

"I knew that we should buy this house as soon as I saw it and I thought that this would be the right place to call home, Jade" dad smiled proudly. "What do you think, Millie?"

I stared at the house, scanning the details. It was much different from where I used to live. There was no trash littering the sidewalks, the air smelled much more fresh, the roads were practically empty and there was lots of lush plant life. Of course it was much nicer than where I used to live, but I wasn't used to the place yet, so I still felt uneasy. Still, I had to respond with something positive.

"It's nice," I meekly said with a small smile. "It's better than our apartment, I guess…"

My parents didn't buy it. My father kneeled towards my eye level and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, it'll be alright," he whispered. "I know it'll be tough moving to somewhere new, but I promise that you'll love it here. You'll make new friends, go to an amazing school, and I'm sure that in the end, you'll think, "I'm so happy I get to live the rest of my life here!".

"That's kind of cheesy, dad…" I mumbled.

"Well your old man isn't really known for originality," he smirked. "Now come on, let's help the movers with our stuff"

Dad stood up and went inside the moving truck and carried out some crates into the house. I decided to comply and lend a hand as well. It was an exhausting afternoon, but eventually, we filled up the house a little after sunset. To celebrate the arrival, Dad took Mom and I out to dinner. Sometimes I wonder if my dad was a miracle worker if he could afford both a house and a fancy meal for three.

That night, I was completely worn out and just wanted nothing but the feeling of bed and sleep. I sluggishly got into my pajamas and lazily brushed my teeth and slipped into bed. As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep right away. That's when Gunther scurried into my room and pounced onto the bed. I smiled as I let him burrow into my blankets. I caressed his head and his eyelids closed shut and he was out. I felt my own eyelids get heavy and dozed off wondering what my new life was going to be like.

* * *

I walked down the concrete path of my neighborhood, wondering how I was even still here. I shoved my hands into my purple hoodie in frustration. My name is Toothy. I'm a mauve colored beaver with freckles with a gaping hole between my buck teeth. I also have a couple of stray hairs from my fur sticking out from my head. I also have a larger tail than most beavers because before I moved here it was badly damaged, so they had to operate on it and that's why it looks so big. These traits were the only things that stood out to make me who I am: a generic, boring teenager who loves comics, video games, movies and bike riding, the normal hobbies of any generic teen. I didn't stand out compared to my other friends.

Just the thought of this makes me depressed. To make things worse, I was rumored to be homosexual, or "gay" as it's most commonly used, just because of my huge fandom for the town hero, Splendid. The rumor sparked when I used to talk endlessly about the blue hero in elementary school and it only grew when I decided to dress up as him for Halloween in 6th grade. It was also the time where my color of fur was considered "girly" and that was a huge advantage for the bullies. They also fed the rumor with the way I used to behave, all bubbly and child-like. I was able to handle the harassment for a while, but now it just stings. The only thing keeping me going right now was the people around me. My friends and family encouraged me to be strong about this and ignore what the people say about me, but it's impossible for me to avoid that. The fact I'm a huge crybaby doesn't help, which I suppose is another trait about me, but who wants that?

Summer was almost over and I was going into high school, which is the perfect habitat for bullies and with this appearance, I'm practically open prey. Yes, I've tried letting teachers know about the constant bullying, but after that, I'm in more pain than I was before I told. There is just no way out for this beaver. I bet no one would even know I was alive even if I ditched school. I felt hot tears sting my eyes as I continued to walk and then trudge on the sidewalk.

"Hey Toothy!" yelled a voice.

I knew that voice so well I could only think of the color yellow just hearing it. I turned to see my best friend, Cuddles, speeding towards me on his skateboard. As he approached me he flipped his skateboard into his hands and smiled at me.

"Oh, hey Cuddles…" I greeted trying to make a smile.

Cuddles is a yellow rabbit with curly, blonde hair, rosy cheeks and has a signature physical trait: pink bunny slippers. Cuddles has always been my best buddy, since the first day our eyes met on the first day of preschool. He was just so cool, with that daredevil personality with a mix of jock and child-like attitude, it's hard NOT to want to be friends with him. I just glad he chose ME of all people to be his best friend. During kindergarten he was considered a troublemaker, but now he's matured and has become a really popular and nice guy. He's even won himself a girlfriend, Giggles, who was also one of my close friends. Many girls have drooled over the yellow rabbit, but of course the waterworks ran dry when he started dating the pink chipmunk known as Giggles.

"How's it been, Toothy?" Cuddles asked spinning one of his wheels on his skateboard.

"Well, school's coming soon, so I guess I'll enjoy the summer I have now" I answered. "Though I still need school supplies, meaning I'll have to go down to the store sometime"

"That's nice," Cuddles smiled, but then he likely saw through my fake smile. "Hey, something wrong buddy?"

"I-it's nothing, nothing you should be concerned about…" I lied.

"Yes it is!" Cuddles said, looking serious. "You've really been out of it since 8th grade!"

"So you noticed…" I mumbled. That's when the dams started to crack. "I-I just feel so...useless…and...people keep telling me...that I'm gay...when I'm not..."

Cuddles grabbed my shoulders a shook me rapidly. "This again?! I told you a million times: you're not worthless! You're not generic! And I know you're not gay! Stop letting those jerks get in your head!"

I shoved Cuddle's arms off and let my tears flow. "Then tell me! Tell me how I'm not worthless! Tell me how I'm special!" I cried.

Cuddles crossed his arms and started listing. "For starters, you're the greatest friend I could ever ask for! Nobody can replace you, Tooth!"

I turned my head away from Cuddles with tears still stinging my eyes, but Cuddles used his hand to turn my head back towards him.

"Next, you're an AWESOME singer! The only other angelic voice I've ever heard from was from Giggles!"

" _I suppose that makes sense,_ " I thought to myself.

"And also, you know as much Splendid trivia more than I can possibly guess! You're amazing Toothy! Don't let anyone else tell you different!" Cuddles exclaimed with frustration.

That's when Cuddles wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I gasped as he did this, but then went along and did the same. Cuddles was always a great hugger and it just made me feel better inside. I don't know what it was that made me like Cuddles' hugs so much, but I think it had something to do with his soft fur and brotherly embrace. No, wait, scratch that, that was exactly it. Sure it feels good when your parents do it, but it feels better to me when a friend does it.

"Toothy, you're my best friend," Cuddles whispered. "Please, I hate seeing you like this. You're not that happy, go-lucky, cheerful beaver I'm friends with, so please, go back to being that same beaver"

The yellow rabbit let go of my shoulders and gave me a small grin.

"Besides, if you WERE gay, I'd still be your friend and I'd support you all the way"

I responded with a smile, knowing that Cuddles will always be there for me, like an amazing friend would do.

Cuddles held his skateboard in his arm and returned to his friendly expression.

"So, now that all the sob stuff is outta the way, I actually came to ask you something"

"Hm? What is it?" I asked puzzled.

"Have you gotten your class schedule yet? I wanna see which classes we have together"

That's when my eyes opened with shock. I totally forgot about that! I made myself countless reminders to pick up my schedule, but I kept forgetting!

"Crap! I forgot! I gotta hurry!" I turned and sped towards the school. "Catch ya later, buddy!"

"Remember Toothy! You're a great guy and you you know it!" Cuddles called out before skating away.

I rushed towards the school to pick up my new agenda for my classes. When I finally obtained it, I read what I saw and was fairly pleased with myself, having Cuddles in five of my classes and seeing my other friends in others. I jammed the paper in my pocket and headed home, wondering how, when and if my luck will change at this point.

* * *

 **I've actually been waiting to start this story for a really long time to be honest, so I'm glad I started while I still had this fresh in my head. Read and review and STAY CALM AND LOVE HTF. PEACE!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Has it seriously been a year since this story was posted? Man I really suck at this whole Fanfiction author thing, I really do. Anyways, the chapter is here now so...yeah. HTF and any characters that belong MondoMedia belongs to them. Enjoy.**

* * *

As I woke up to the morning chills in my room, I lazily opened my eyes, which I was hesitant to do because my eyesight wasn't used to the brightness in my room. I stretched my arms over my head, which made a couple of popping sounds. I grabbed my glasses from my nightstand, placed them on my face and groaned out of frustration from having to get up from my warm nest I like to call my bed and walk towards my closet, feeling a slight ache in my legs. As you see, I'm not much of a morning person.

The remaining days of summer have already flown on by, meaning today was the first day of school. Like most people, I wasn't really looking forward to going and my reason was because I didn't want to make a fool of myself in a place I've never been to before. Right now, all I wanted to do was get a couple more hours of sleep, but life doesn't work that way.

I didn't particularly have a difficult time in school, whereas I got fairly good grades and I get my school work done, but the problem I had was having to socialize with the other students and teachers. I was never very social unless it had to do with group projects, in which I would have to talk to people for the sake of my grades. I won't lie, I kind of wanted to talk to the other students at my school and I would've traded anything at the time to have the courage to speak up and talk to someone, but it was just too difficult for me to handle. I was always known as the girl who sat in the darkest corner in the back of the class, a least, I think I was, and I believed the same scenario will be at this school as well.

I started to shuffle through clothes hangers, listening to the clanging sounds of metal as I browsed through the closet. Eventually, I found a checkered black and yellow button-up dress that went down to my knee-caps. I then paired it with some long, white stockings and purple buckle-up shoes. I walked towards my bedroom door to head towards the bathroom and when I opened it, Gunther scurried into my room, panting with excitement. The circled around my feet a couple times and gave a small yelp. That managed to make me give smirk at him and I made my way to the bathroom. When I looked into the mirror, my hair was all frazzled, making me cringe in disgust. I quickly grabbed a hairbrush and painstakingly brushed out any knots and tied it into a ponytail. I then picked up my toothbrush and squeezed some mint-flavored toothpaste onto the bristles and started brushing unique shaped buck teeth in a circular motion.

After I finished, I slowly walked downstairs to see the dining room, where my parents were. Mom was cooking breakfast and Dad was reading a newspaper, drinking some coffee. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the floor made a small creaking sound. My dad then looked up from his paper and smiled.

"Morning, sunshine"

"Morning, dad. Morning mom"

"Good morning, sweetie. Ready for your first day?"

I responded with a shrug. This caused my dad to snicker a bit, and went back to reading his paper.

"Well, breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes," my mom smiled. "Why don't you fill up Gunther's bowl for me?"

Right on cue, Gunther appeared from behind me, wagging his tail. He was clearly ready to be fed.

"Okay mom" I responded as I made my way over to my dog's food bowl.

* * *

I woke up to the loud sound of my alarm clock. I groaned as I reluctantly raised my arm to turn it off. The remaining time of summer vacation has already gone by and as you might have guessed, I was very far from thrilled about today.I then sat up from my bed, rubbing some sleep out my eyes. I got up from my bed to my bathroom. I then splashed some cold water on my face, which helped me wake up a bit. I stared into the mirror and sighed, getting out my toothbrush and brushed in circular patterns and then started flossing after. Then I ran my hands through my lavender hair to get it the way I like it, which is a slightly messy style with a couple of stray hairs sticking out from the top. I made my way towards my closet, picking a purple cardigan with a blue striped undershirt paired with some jeans and blue sneakers. I then looked over at my dresser to see my pet tortoise in his terrain looking at me. I walked over to my pet and lightly caressed the back of his shell, which had some fading painted flames on it.

"At least you don't have to deal with so much pain like me," I whispered. "I wish I could be like you, not having to go anywhere"

I grabbed some lettuce from a bag and placed it in my pet's bowl. The then slowly walked towards the green food and started nibbling on it. I gave out a sigh as I walked out of my room and downstairs. Both of my parents work and they usually leave early. Every morning I'm given some sticky notes for a small morning chore or two, like washing the dishes or watering the plants in the backyard. Today was just checking the mailbox, but I was paranoid because I thought that some bully would attack me while I was checking the mailbox. Nevertheless, I still had to obey my parents, so I grabbed an apple and went out to check the mail. I opened the mailbox and found some white envelopes specifically for my parents. They seemed to be business letters and bills, so I didn't pay too much attention to details. I took a quick scan on my surroundings for any bullies and quickly made my way back to the house to drop off the letters. I then grabbed my backpack, got onto my bike and peddled towards the school, still worried about what will happen.

* * *

After filling up Gunther's bowl, I made my way back to the dining room to eat breakfast. I grabbed a fork and lifted some eggs into my mouth. There was an awkward silence in the room until Mom broke it.

"Millie, if you can I'd like you to at least talk to some people at school today," she requested. "Maybe two or three people"

"I dunno," I muttered. "I don't know anyone at the school"

"And it's going to stay that way if you don't try," Mom responded. "I just don't want you to be lonely here"

"Your mother is right, dear," my dad said. "We just want you to talk to someone other than Gunther and Tumbles"

"What wrong with Tumbles?" I questioned.

"Nothing dear," Mom answered. "But Tumbles is your cousin and we want you to make friends outside the family zone. Same with Gunther"

I wanted to protest to this, but in reality, they were right. I have to talk to other people eventually in life and just keeping my mouth shut won't fix that.

"Alright, I guess I could talk to a couple of people" I sighed giving in.

My parents smiled with approval and I continued eating.

"If you want me to I can drive you to school," Dad offered. "I have plenty of time before I go to work"

"No, it's fine," I assured. "The school's not too far from here, so I can walk"

Dad then gave a nod in return. I soon finished my plate and washed it in the sink. I then grabbed my backpack and went to head out the door.

"Have a good day at school, Millie!" my mom called.

""Thanks!" I responded before closing the door. "I'll try…"

* * *

 **I was originally going to make this chapter longer, but I just wanted to get this story updated ASAP before people think it's cancelled forever. Trust me, I want this story finished as much as the next person, but life just happens for me. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter that will come out who knows when. Peace!**


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